It was in the mid 80's, when I started I.A. program in Ranta Rajya Campus, Kathmandu. We had a group of about five students from Chitwan, Nawalparasi and Tanhaun. Because of our close friendship and shared political orientation, we decided to rent rooms in the same building in Bagh Bazaar behind the old bus park, Ratna Park. Political climate in the campus was always amazingly hot. There was either welcome party for newcomers or Nepal Student Union unit meetings or frequent verbal/physical fights with leftist students. And it was our daily routine to go to Nepali Congress (NC) Party Office in Jamal. By the time we were back in our room, it was already 7:30 pm. Then, we had to prepare for the next day?s morning class. In a way, our life was busy but exciting.
 
I learnt so much about politics from NC Jamal Office. For me the NC Jamal office was the center of the universe. I wanted to go there every single day. By 1: 00 p.m. NC workers started to gather. There was a teashop, next to the office, run by Bhagbat Dai, a NC worker from Syangja. He served the best quality tea. Until the trio of top leaders -- Ganesh Man Jee, Kishun Jee and Girija Babu -- arrived, we spent time inside the teashop. Most of the time NC cadres were either discussing on current political issues or narrating their past political experiences. The environment inside the teashop was like another political science class room.
 
Normally, Kishun jee used to come first, followed by Girija Babu and Ganesh Man jee in that order. When any of these three leaders arrived, we all used to stand up and greet them with "Jay Nepal". First, for an hour or so, the senior leaders used to talk about some serious matters privately among themselves. Their room remained closed during that time. Then the room was open for all party workers. Entering that room always gave us a great feeling. Listening to the top three leaders face to face was both exciting and rewarding, which I cherish for the rest of my life. During that time, we all had easy access to our leaders.
 
There were only three useable rooms in the office. One was for the top three leaders; another one was for second tier leaders like Basu Dai and Yog Prasad Jee. And the third room was for the students, which was always the noisiest one in the building. The topic of the talks varied room to room - from party policies to clashes in which NC workers were beaten up by communist or Mandale as well as a potential meeting between Girija Babu and King Birendra.
 
Basu Dai and Yog Prasad Jee always seemed to be more focused on logistic aspects: communicating with party workers and writing scholarship recommendation for students who wanted to go to countries such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. They would also be busy tracking who were in hospital, what their needs were, and what could be done for the family if a party worker passed away.   
 
I remember a day vividly. A NC worker from Baglung died in Bir Hospital. The family wanted to take his body to their hometown for cremation but had little money for that. The wife and their 12-year-old son were requesting the party leaders to make arrangements for transportation the body to Baglung. First, Basu Dai and Yog Prasad jee tried to find a solution but it was in vain. Then Ganesh Man Jee made about 3 phone calls and managed to rent a taxi to Pokhara. I think Tara Bhatt Dai later arranged transportation from Pokhara to Baglung. The family had not eaten enough for two days. I had 95 rupees saved for books but gave it to the family. The wife burst into tears and sobbed "Khai Ke Bhanam" (what should I say now). That was one of the best decisions of my life. In those old days NC leaders/cadres had a bond and they really cared for each other. For me that's the legacy of the NC Jamal office.
 
Later I learnt that the woman succumbed to jaundice and the son went to Lacknow, India for work. I have no further information about him. I still remember their faces fondly and I hope the son is doing fine wherever he is.
 
During my 6 years stay in Kathmandu and interaction with NC leaders/cadres, I realized that NC was the party of the people from all walks of life. Most of them were from middle class families. I am still not sure how the party was running financially. When a cadre was hospitalized, or when someone died, leaders had to work really hard to arrange financial support. My impression is that people like Kuber Sharma, Sagar Samsher Rana, Ram Krishna Tamkakar etc. helped NC financially during those difficult days.
 
I remember another incident. One of my friends was about to have an operation and he needed some blood immediately. I went to NC office. Then the influential student leader Hridaya Ram Thani talked to three students standing by. All three (one from Jhapa and two from Lamjung) were ready to donate their blood. Then they went to Teaching Hospital with me. My friend got blood from the Jhapali student and the operation went well.
 
Later I came to know that the student who gave the blood had already donated blood six times within the last five months. I salute the Jhapali student for his eagerness to help fellow friends and party workers. This is just one example. I met many inspiring NC leaders and cadres like this student in the NC Jamal office.
   
The greeting words of Jay Nepal were magical for all of us. If someone greeted you with Jay Nepal, you felt like he/she was part of your family. It did not matter when you met or how long you know him/her personally; the couple of words "Jay Nepal" was enough. In those days the words carried substance and feeling.
 
Pre-1990 was a difficult time for NC supporters. People were even scared to go to the NC office. We saw the same faces regularly in the party office. I rarely saw new faces there. Those who came to the office were diehard NC workers. Their number was relatively small. But surely it was a determined group of people. For them, Nepali Congress was their life. They were educated; they had given up carrier and luxury for their political belief. Though they did not have material life, they were happy with what they were doing. You could see the passion for democracy in their eyes. They were optimistic that democracy and rule of law would prevail in Nepal soon.
 
It has been about 22 years since I first entered the NC Jamal office. The last time I went to the new NC office (now in Sanepa) was about 6 months back. I have to admit that sadly the NC party has transformed into a club of different interest groups. You can see the flow of bad money within the NC. Then, only Ganesh Man jee had a jeep, which was given by Kuber Sharma. Kishun jee did not have a car ? he used to take a taxi. Girija babu did not have a car. Now, most of the central leaders have Pajero Jeeps worth over six million rupees. How did they manage to buy such expensive cars? Maybe God knows!
 
Before 1990 you could go and talk to a leader face to face and put forward your concerns. Now meeting a lowly leader like Sharad Singh Bhandari or Khum Bahadur Khadka is a day-long task.   
 
The words "Jay Nepal" lost their charm. The quantity of NC workers in the Central Office increased by many folds but their quality is increasingly going down.
 
My heart was shattered when I heard a senior NC leader Ram Chandra Poudel say "without party being in the power and without having enough money, we cannot win the election". I realized that the NC has transformed from a "revolutionary and disciplined party", which had won people's heart by hard work, into a party which is ruled by money and the mobs. What the party has adopted over the last 20 years is love for money and love for the "chair". Now the NC has been largely the party of Khum Bahadur Khadka and Govinda Raj Joshi, who speak and understand only the language of money.
 
I deeply miss the NC Jamal office. I miss the true NC workers who gave up everything for democracy during difficult times. Most importantly, I miss the inclusiveness of the NC for average people like me. What I see today is that the true NC workers, who kept the "light" alive are in minority in their own party. I wish I could turn the time around.

Bharatpur, Chitwan